Roeder wants players to toughen up

Monday 16 January 2006 00:10 BST

Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder has challenged his players to show mental toughness as they attempt to bounce back from their horror show in Sunday's 2-1 defeat by Bolton.

Turkish outfit Fenerbahce are due at St James' Park in the UEFA Cup on Thursday night and their representatives at the game will have returned with encouraging reports for their Brazilian coach, the legendary Zico. Shola Ameobi's 19th-minute penalty gave Newcastle the lead - but two appalling defensive lapses allowed El-Hadji Diouf to help himself to a second-half double inside 97 seconds.

"This is a time now to stand up and be counted and show they are mentally tough," said Roeder. "We are back out here on Thursday against Fenerbahce and it is very important we keep a clean sheet."

He added: "Whether it is a European game or another Premiership game, if you are not doing the basics as far as defending is concerned, it has got to be a concern.

"Some players will handle it better than others. We need to make sure our players are mentally tough to come out here on Thursday and keep a clean sheet."

For Bolton boss Sam Allardyce, the emotions were in stark contrast after his side climbed back into third place with a third successive league victory.

He admitted they were not at the races in the first half, but was delighted with the way they responded to win a Premiership game on Tyneside for the first time in eight attempts.

He said: "We have got high aspirations because it is demanded by our fans that we look at that level.

"In three years, we have finished eighth, sixth and eighth. Now they are looking to us to repeat that or go even further, and that is a great expectation for a club like ours.

"But is is something we hope we can achieve. We are off to a really, really good start, but it is a long old season."